March 22nd Saturday

I got up early to go to the library and ate some cereal. I got ready to go but then saw that M. Choupin was home. I realized that it was Saturday and that he’d be home during the day. I went over and rang the bell but then he came up the stairs. I told him about the duck issue. He went to drop off some groceries but came over right away to see.

He had to climb up on our kitchen counter to look out. As soon as he saw the duck he said “Oh, well we’ll have to call the fire department!” He immediately went to take action and told us he’d keep us informed. He went to try to contact the downstairs neighbor because it looked like there may be a skylight that could open up into the light shaft.

I couldn’t go to the library with the duck’s fate hanging in the balance. I decided to stay home and do some work. It was hard to concentrate but I was able to eventually get some work done. I kept checking on and feeding the duck. He didn’t look like he was eating anymore and he looked really weak.

I went and bought a baguette. I made some of the légumes de soleil soup and sat down to lunch with Adrienne. Then we were all of a sudden interrupted. M. Choupin had gotten a hold of the neighbor from downstairs who is an American. The guy and his girlfriend came in to see the duck from our window. We tried to come up with a plan. I suggested they use a towel to try to wrap the duck in.

M. Choupin and the two neighbors went down into the cave to try to rescue the duck. Adrienne and I watched anxiously from above. The neighbor was the only one who could fit through the window. He was able to open the window. It's one of the windows that's joined in the middle and spins open so that you only have half the space to climb through. He had to climb up on some shaky shelves and a ladder to get up out of the window. He had some thick gloves on and with our help from above, was able to find the duck and grab him. He handed the duck through the window to the landlord. Then he said "Help! Don't forget about me! Help me down." I ran barefoot down the stairs to meet them as they came out of the cave. M. Choupin had the duck wrapped up in a towel. He asked if I wanted to free the duck in the Tuileries. "Yes!" I said and ran upstairs to grab some shoes. I ran back downstairs. I had thought that M. Choupin was going to come with me but he meant that I could go by myself. He passed the duck off to me. He said "Now be careful and hold him tight. Otherwise he will fly away. You know where to go? Are you going to be okay by yourself? Do you need me to go with you?"I told him I would be okay and started off down the street with a duck in my arms. I looked at it a bit nervously because it was in a position to turn around and bite my face. At the end of the street M. Choupin ran up to me and said "Are you sure you're okay? You look nervous." I told him that I just didn't want to walk too fast and scare the duck. He didn't look convinced. He said "Okay well let me know how it goes." He went back to the apartment and I continued on.Everyone looked at me funny as I walked past. I was worried that a tourist would come up and want to pet it so I was ready to snarl "Touche pas!” I must have heard the word for duck in every language. All the tourists were going “Oh, look at the duck!” I made my way past the Musée d'Orsay and crossed the street toward the Seine. When the duck felt the wind and saw the water he tried to struggle a little bit. I wanted to wait to get to the park because he would be safer there. I made it across the bridge and into the gardens. I walked over toward the big pond and leaned down next to it. I was able to let the duck slip out into the water. He immediately started swimming around. He was really thirsty so he started drinking water. I'd brought a slice of bread with me so I broke pieces off and tossed it in the water. He ate a piece of it but was more interested in the water. When other ducks came to eat the bread he swam away. I stayed for a little while and watched him swim around. He wasn't looking good at all in the air shaft. He wasn't really moving. I'd thought he was already dead. But once in the water he was able to swim around. He was able to drink. He wasn't strong enough to fly yet but I was hoping that once he was hydrated and found some food that he'd be able to fly.I wanted to stay for a long time but I knew I had to get back and do some work. I pried myself away and with a few backward glances left the duck to fend for himself. I'm very hopeful that he'll survive. He looked more energetic swimming. I wasn't able to get a picture of me holding him but I took some of him once he was in the pond. The good thing was that we were successful and he's now got a fighting chance.

I walked home from the Tuileries beaming with happiness at having successfully rescued the duck. As I was crossing the Solférino bridge, a man came up next to me. He smiled at me and said “Bonjour.” I was in a good mood so I looked at him and said “Bonjour.” He kept walking next to me and said “Vous êtes très jolie.” (you are very pretty) He continued to talk to me. He asked me if I would go get a drink with him. I told him that I was in a hurry to go meet a friend and that I didn’t have time. He started asking me where I was going and how long I’d be. I asked “Why do you want to know?” He said, “Because you are so beautiful. I really want to go have a drink with you.” I told him no and that I wasn’t interested. He started pouting and looked like he was going to cry. He asked “Why?” Not wanting to be mean I just told him “Look, I’m not looking for anyone. I’m not interested.” He seriously looked like he was going to cry. He told me he liked my face and my hair. I said, “Look, I dye my hair. It’s not even real.” He just quietly said, “S’il vous plait.” He wouldn’t leave me alone until he asked, “Vous avez déjà quelqu’un?” (You already have someone?)
I sighed and answered “Oui.”
“Je n’ai pas de chance alors?” (I don’t have a chance then?)
“Non.”

I was able to leave him and continue walking. He didn’t follow me but just moped off on the bridge. It was a very strange encounter. I wonder how many girls he gets by crying when they say no.

I got home without further incident. I immediately called my parents to let them know that the duck was rescued and was now free. I had been keeping them updated the whole time. Then I was able to reheat and finish my soup. I worked a bit on my paper after that. I went to the library to try to get some more books. I made the shocking discovery that it was closed until Tuesday! I was so upset. It was the week before the papers were due and I was losing two library days. I just came back home and worked there.
I talked online a bit as well. We made dinner from a frozen pack of chicken, mushrooms, and onions in a creamy sauce. I talked to my parents again on Skype. I was in bed reading at 11:20pm. I was really excited that the next day was Easter.

March 21st Friday

I got up around 11:00am. I had some bread with butter and pear jam for breakfast. I decided to look out our kitchen window and see what the noise was. Our kitchen and bathroom windows open on this rectangular... hole. It's about 10 square feet of space but it goes up about 5 or 6 stories. I don't know if there's any way to enter. It sounded like someone was trying to get in the window the previous night. I looked down and did see something. There was a duck! A poor duck is trapped in the space. I'm not sure how he got in there but it looked like he couldn’t get out. From what I've seen of duck takeoffs it looks like they need a sort of take off area like a plane. They can't fly straight up for 6 stories.

I threw some bread down for the duck so that he could have something to eat. Then I emailed our landlord to ask him if there was any way to “libérer le canard.”

After that I had to put aside my duckwatch and talk to Amana S. We talked briefly and scheduled a time we could go grocery shopping together. We wanted to make a big Easter dinner. Adrienne and I would host it in our apartment.

I ran to the library around 3:00pm. I copied my books and checked out another one. I saw Alberto and he was working hard on his papers as well. I started heading home but then I got a call from Amanda. She was wondering if we should just meet at the library because she had some books to return. I turned around and headed back to the library. I knew she wouldn’t be there for a bit so I made a side trip to the G20 store nearby. I was starving and wanted to find something cheap to eat.

I couldn’t find much sadly. I’d passed right by the sandwich area at the front of the store. I ended up getting a drinkable vanilla yogurt and some pizza crackers. I munched on these while I walked back to school. I met up with Amanda and she returned her books. Then we walked from there to Franprix. I’d talked to Adrienne and she met us at the store. We bought the ingredients for Easter dinner there. We bought some chicken, potatoes, and pears. We stopped by the apartment and dropped off the groceries.

Amanda was really craving some McDonalds. I decided to break my tradition from my last trip to France and go with her. When I’d studied in Tours I did not eat at a McDonalds once for the whole six months. It was hard when I’d get cravings for it and be homesick. Amanda and I walked up to the McDonalds on Rue de Rivoli. It was a really nice McDonalds actually. I think it looked nicer than any in the states. I had the Big Mac menu with fries and a Coca light. It was really yummy.

After that I walked home. I worked on my paper a bit more and talked to my parents. I was disappointed that I hadn’t heard from our landlord in regards to the duck email. He doesn’t always read his email every day. I saw that he was home but he was wearing a robe and looked like he might have his kids visiting. I decided not to bother him right then.

I got hungry later and made myself some onion ramen noodles to hold me over. I worked on my paper until 3:30am. I went to bed around 4:00am.